The Battle For Skandia -Missing Scenes
by Mrs. Knightley
Summary: The elusive missing chapter from the end of the book after our favorite hero's returned to Araluen. Complete :)
1. Chapter 1

All told, the day had been... exhausting. First, there was their triumphant return to Araluen and the return of the crown Princess Cassandra to her father, King Duncan. Next, was the discovery that Halt had been banished from the kingdom and expelled from the ranger core, shortly followed by his pardon from the king and reinstatement to the rangers once more. Then there was the Skandian Oberjarl in Araluen and the ratification of the treaty between the two countries, followed by the feast celebrating it. And of course, the many reunions with friends and well wishers. The celebrating went on though most of the afternoon and into the evening before the party started to break up.

It was hard for Will to say good by to Erak. He had grown quite fond of the big Skandian. The sea wolves were a boisterous lot, but Will thought they had done pretty well trying to fit into the scene of an Araluen banquet. The hall was filled with the nobles, knights and fine ladies of the court, all dressed in their best silks and feathers. Will had smiled and even laughed to himself to see the pirates on their best behavior. They had declined the invitation to stay over night however, and returned to their ship after the feast. Will, along with many others, had gone to farewell them. Before their departure he received a rib-crushing bear-hug from the oberjarl. "Take care of yourself boy," the man said gruffly, after returning the youth to his feet. "If you are ever over our way, you will always be welcome."

"Thanks Erak," replied the youth, a little breathlessly. He stood on the dock watching as the ship got smaller and smaller until it was just a dot on the horizon and was lost in the failing light.

Will was tired. It was a happy sort of tired, for it felt good to be back in his own country. Only a few short months ago, it seemed almost an impossibility. But when it came to Halt, it seemed nothing was impossible. Will had believed that Halt would come for him, a belief he had clung to despite the grim reality of his situation. Will was stunned when he learned of Halt's banishment. He almost couldn't believe his ears. Halt, banished? And over a drunken slandering rant? It was a difficult concept to wrap his mind around. The apprentice knew what the ranger core meant to the man, how loyal he was to his country and devoted to his king. The situation confused Will, it wasn't at all in keeping with the man's character. Instinctively, he knew there had to be more to the story. The whole thing was so foreign to who Halt was that Will was sure it was not an accident or mishap. But in the day's busy schedule there had not been any opportunity for Will to question his mentor about it. He wondered if the older man would explain it to him.

Halt had been given a large apartment suite in the royal wing of the castle. It was normally used for visiting royal families from other countries. The king had insisted, and while the ranger would almost have preferred sleeping outside to the overly adorned accommodations, he accepted the king's hospitality with good grace. It had three separate bedrooms all connected to a large common room with many comfortable couches and ottomans. It had tall windows covered with thick drapes of velvet and a set of double doors that led out onto a small balcony facing the ocean. Halt had kept these open allowing in the cool night air. There was a great oak table for a work area and an enormous fireplace. Will had, of course, been invited to stay with Halt in the apartment.

As they retired to their accommodations that night, Will seemed to be unusually quiet. Halt knew the day had been long for everyone, but the face of his young apprentice had grown more serious as the evening came to a close. Halt thought he knew what was was on the young man's mind and knew that he, himself, was the cause of it.

It was wrong of him not to have told Will about his banishment. He had meant to. He had fully intended to tell his young apprentice about his disgraced departure from Araluen, but he had just never found the right moment. In his defense, they had all been pretty busy just trying to stay alive, first from a hostile country of Skanidans and then from an invading army of Tamerji soldiers. But still, he knew the situation should have been explained to his young apprentice.

On the ship journey home, he knew he was running out of time and that it needed to be done, but he just didn't know how to start the conversation. Still, that was no excuse. Will should not have found out the manner that he did. Not in such a public way, or without any explanation from him. Halt knew he had handled that poorly. The problem was he didn't know how to explain it; how to justify the fact that he had turned his back on his country, his king, the core, everything he held dear. What was his justification for such an action? The answer was obvious, as it was the only way he would have found the boy. Halt knew the longer the delay in going to search for Will and the princess the less likely they would ever be found. Not that the odds had ever been very good. In the end he had simply done what he felt he had to do to keep the promise he had made to Will, but would the young man understand that? The boy had sacrificed himself for the good of his country. Would he understand Halt's actions? Would he be disappointed?

Seeing that he could not put it off any longer, he decided it was best to just get on with it. As they entered the apartment, the older ranger turned to the young man and said, "Will, we need to talk. I feel I owe you an explanation."

The apprentice looked at the older man, a mixture of emotions on his face. "Halt, I..." he started, then stopped, seemingly unsure of what he was going to say.

Seeing Will at a loss for words was not something Halt was accustomed to. He waited a moment to see if his apprentice was going to finish his statement. When the young man didn't, he began, "I was denied leave to come after you. So, I did what I had to in order gain a release from service. I'm sorry," he said. "I should have told you about my situation before we returned home. You should have heard it from me first."

At that, Will found his voice again. "Don't apologize. Please Halt, I... you... you shouldn't have had to... I can't..." Will stopped, trying to get his thoughts together as he absorbed Halt's words. He had been shocked, astonished- dumbfounded even at the news of Halt's banishment. Now, for the first time, he fully understood what it had truly cost his mentor to come after them, what he had given up. Never would he have imagined or wanted Halt to go through something like that. The fact that Will knew nothing about it was an insignificant detail compared to the sacrifice Halt had made for him. Taking a deep breath and squaring his shoulders, he started again. "Halt there are not words- there is no way for me to thank you for what you did. Please don't apologize for anything."

The grizzled ranger studied the young man before him, noting again how much he had grown up over the last year. "I made you a promise," he said simply. "I did what was necessary to keep that promise."

Will looked at the man he loved and respected more than any one else and nodded once. It was a very Halt-like thing to do and suddenly Will seemed to understand. That simple movement could say what words could not.

The corner of Halt's mouth twitched up in what was almost a smile. He clapped the younger man on the shoulder. "What would I do with out you getting under my feet all the time?" he asked, and Will grinned at him. "It was pretty quiet at the cabin with you gone. I'd almost forgotten what silence was like."

At the mention of the cabin, they both looked around the finely furnished room. It was nice to be sure, the finest the kingdom had to offer, but it all felt a little stiff to Will. Very different from their comfortable little cabin in the woods. "This is nothing like home," he said with a smile, "but it's good to be back."

"That it is," replied Halt, in a quiet voice, "And it looks like we will be here for several weeks," he added. "There is some business that we need to attend to before we head back to Redmont."

Will looked questioningly at his mentor, but the bearded man didn't say any more. He simply headed over to the large table and pulled out several sheets of paper, a pen and an ink well. Will knew it was no good asking him further questions tonight but he couldn't help himself. "Halt, what are you doing? What are you working on?"

The older ranger rolled his eyes towards the ceiling. "See what I mean," he stated in an exasperated tone. "Questions, questions, questions..." He shook his head and started writing.

Will was beginning to think that his mentor did that to him on purpose, just to pique his interest with a tidbit of information, then refuse to elaborate. Some things never changed.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a long eleven months for Gilan. He had had plenty to keep him busy with tracking down Foldar and the goings on in his own Fife but he was never so busy as to not wonder where Halt was, if Will was ok, if Halt would ever find his young apprentice and if he, Gilan, would ever see them again.

Gilan was not a pessimistic person by nature, but he couldn't help but wonder how Halt would ever find one young Araluen boy in the entire country of Skandia. Crowley was hopeful that when Cassandra was ransomed she could give an account of where Will might be, but as one month led into another and no ransom demands ever came, they began to loose hope that the two young people ever made it to Skandia. Maybe their boat had gone down in a storm, maybe they were sold as slaves somewhere else before the sea wolves returned to Skandia. The 'what if's' were endless. Very much like looking for a needle in a hay stack, it was easy to see it as a hopeless task.

The first couple of months after Halt had left were actually the easiest for Gilan. Actively hunting down Foldar gave him something productive to do and made him feel like he was in some way helping the man whom he looked up to so much. He had fulfilled the request made of him by the older ranger and he was proud of that. However, once that business was taken care of, Gilan had felt restless and impatient. More than once he had considered following after them and adding his efforts to the search, but he hesitated to do so. Halt had asked him to stay, said he needed to know the younger ranger was here taking care of things. Ultimately, he had decided to trust in his mentor. The man was a living legend after all, and Gilan knew if anyone had a chance of finding Will, it would be Halt.

Finally, the all but unexpected and unlooked for had happened. A letter arrived from Crowley, informing Gilan that Halt had found Will and the Princess and they would be soon arriving back in Araluen. The letter had been misdirected and was late in arriving. That coupled with the fact that Gilan had been away for several days, seeing to some problems on the southern side of his Fife, made it so there was no way that he would make it in time to meet their boat. Crowley also noted that they would be arriving on a Skandian war ship. This bit of information had made Gilan smile; only Halt could pull off something like this.

It was late in the evening when Blaze trotted up the cobble stone road towards the huge castle of Araluen. Heralded by the sentry on the wall, Gilan identified himself and soon the massive iron gate was being hoisted up to allow him inside. As anxious as he was to find Halt, he had to make sure his horse was taken care of first. So upon entering the courtyard he headed for the stables. The stable hand would already be in bed, he knew, but he, like all rangers, preferred to tend to his horse himself. He unsaddled and brushed down the mare.

The bay horse neighed softly and looked over her shoulder to watch the ranger as he worked. **I don't know why you're so nervous, Crowley said they were both fine.**

"I know that," the tall ranger replied softly, not bothering to look at the mare and he ran the brush across her back. "And I am not nervous, just anxious to see them."

 **Your hands are shaking**.

"No they're not," Gilan replied, finishing with the brush and putting it back in the bucket by the wall. "Besides, I am tired," he added defensively, turning to look the mare.

The newly brushed animal just tossed her head, shaking her mane and gave him "that look". Gilan laughed and produced an apple for her. Blaze accepted it gratefully and munched it happily. Seeing that she was content and comfortable for the night, he patted her neck and headed for the stable door.

 **They are fine**. The tall ranger rolled his eyes as he headed for the castle, but didn't deign to reply. He never got the last word in anyway.

* * *

Halt sat at the huge oak table in the common room of the large apartment working on his report for Crowley. Technically, he had not been a ranger for the past eleven months, but then he had never been too worried about technicalities- they tended to just get in the way. He had gained some very valuable and strategically important information during his time abroad, much of which would be useful to the ranger core.  
Given the lateness of the hour, he was somewhat surprised when he heard the soft tap at the door. Flipping the report upside down on the table he called, "Come". The heavy oak door swung slowly open revealing Gilan, his clothes dusty from his travels. A smile lit the older ranger's face as he rose and went to embrace his former apprentice. "Wondered when you'd turn up," he said warmly.

The younger ranger returned the embrace fiercely. "Halt," he said, the tension in his body easing as he saw for himself that his mentor was in fact home again. "You did it, you found him." Then stepping back and looking the older man in the eye he asked, "How is he?"

Looking into the anxious and concerned face Halt knew how hard it had been on Gilan to be left behind, to wonder what was happening. A year is a long time to worry. He felt a surge of affection for the man before him. "He had a rough time of it," he said softly, "but he came though it and he's... still Will," he added, the pride evident in his voice.

"Halt, is he okay?" Gilan asked.

The bearded man's vision shifted to the right, over Gilen's shoulder. He nodded gesturing to a point behind the dusty man in front of him. "See for yourself," he said.

The taller ranger turned around to see the tousle haired youth in question emerging from one of the rooms off the common area. For a moment the two just looked at each other.

"Gilan!" Will exclaimed all thoughts of sleep forgotten as he recognized his friend. "It's so good to see you!" he said with his normal animated exuberance.

Gilan smiled at the enthusiastic greeting, as he walked over and put his arms around the apprentice. "Will, I am so sorry," he said into the younger man's shoulder.

"Gil, what's the matter?" Will ask in a confused voice, looking up into the taller man's eyes. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

"I deserted you in Celtica. Will, I should never have done that."

Will was confused, he had never seen Gilan like this before. Surely he didn't blame himself for my being captured, Will thought as he looked at his friend before realizing that is exactly what he had done. "You don't have anything to be sorry for," the boy repeated. "You didn't desert us. You had to inform the king what we learned about the Celts. You had no way of knowing about the bridge." He paused remembering that time, which seemed so long ago now. "If anything, you helped me realize what I was capable of. You told me to believe in myself and trust Halt's training. Gil, I should be thanking you, not you apologizing to me," he finished earnestly. He hated the look in Gilan's eyes. The self incrimination his friend had placed on himself for the last year had weighed heavily on him.

Gilan shook his head. "You sound like everyone else," he said with a slight smile on his face.

"Well maybe he'll listen to you Will," Halt interjected, "None of the rest of us have been able to make him see sense."

Gilan laughed, it was easier to forgive himself his envisioned mistake now that Will was safely back in Araluen again. He ruffled the boy's hair. "Listen to him?" he repeated smiling at Halt. "He's just a apprentice and far to young to lecture me."

"Just an apprentice?!" Will said in a mock injured tone. "Yes, I am an apprentice, and you are far to old to let something like self doubt eat away at you. What did you call it, a disease?" he said, trying to make light of the situation. He hated seeing the self blame in the eyes of his friend.

Gilan laughed again, and the sound was like a weight lifting from his shoulders. "What do ya know, you were listening," he said putting his arm around the youth again and leading him towards the table. "So come on, let's hear about your adventures."

Despite the lateness of the hour the three rangers sat at the table while stories were told and questions asked and answered. Finally they had talked their fill and, while not every detail had been related, they had satisfied their curiosity for the night. As Will unsuccessfully tried to stifle a yawn, Gilan said, "Well, I guess I had better let you get back to bed."  
Will smiled a tired smile, there was no point in pretending he wasn't sleepy. "Thanks for coming Gil. I've missed you."

"Me too kid," Gilan relied easily. "Welcome home."

As Will said good night and returned to his room, the younger ranger looked across the table at his mentor and smiled. The smile was one of immense relief, as his fears and worries over the last year were finally dispelled. Glancing over his shoulder in the direction Will had disappeared he said, " You were right Halt. He's still Will."

The older ranger returned the smile, leaning back in his chair. "That he is Gilan," he said in a content and satisfied tone. "That he is."


End file.
